this Justin

Justin had another IR (Interventional Radiology) procedure today for the clotting in his left leg and Inferior Vena Cava. I was told it would take roughly 2 hours between the actual procedure and recovery, however, the procedure itself was nearly 3 hours and recovery … an hour and a half. I heard from the nurse…

Justin is shedding tubes like crazy! By the time I arrived, the pain team had already turned off his epidural and given him oral meds. Unfortunately, the dosage was too high and on an empty stomach it made him nauseous. From the night before I had some leftover crackers, so he was able to munch…

Things continue to go well here. The surgical team clamped Justin’s NG tube first thing yesterday morning. By mid-afternoon they removed it, which has greatly improved his overall comfort and demeanor. However, the team did NOT change his diet orders and left him on “sips and chips” overnight. Although I understand the slow approach, the…

Justin has been up most of the day, only taking a few short naps. His eyes are wider and the glassiness is waning.  Shortly after 10:00, the IR team swooped him away for a stomach “study.” I mentioned before, they pumped contrast through his NG tube in route to his stomach, then man-handled him into…

It has been a good day here in room 74! As typical, it took a couple of days for Justin to metabolize all the anesthesia from surgery and although he still took some respectable naps (mostly this morning), he was awake and conversing for several hours.  Justin is holding steady with the epidural, only taking…

Justin has been sleeping nearly all day aside from when nurses or therapist are asking him questions. The epidural switch has definitely made him more pleasant … only one snarky comment thus far. Justin did stand for a couple of minutes this morning. He was more stable and erect than I was expecting, so good…

Not a lot to report for day one of recovery. Justin has spent most of the day either sleeping or being annoyed that he isn’t.  I think one of the biggest problems was the Dilaudid in his epidural. We know from experience that Justin does not respond well to this medication. Makes him angry and…

I arrived this morning to find the most handsome, droppy-eyed guy on the planet. The nurse was fortunately in his room, so I was able to get a small download of overnight happenings. I also saw the chief resident when I walked down the hallway, he said he slept, didn’t look like it.  Justin is…

Alright! Twelve hours later and Justin is finally in recovery. Unlike the past two big surgeries, they are not keeping him intubated overnight and he will go into a standard room, as opposed to ICU. Yay! The plan is to keep him in Recovery for 4 hours before heading upstairs, so I’m sticking around hoping…

Just before 4:30 I received a call from Justin’s nurse, they had just started the HIPEC chemo treatment and anticipate being done around 8:00. That would put his surgery around 11.5 hours. Although I was hoping for shorter, in my heart I know it’s best they took their time and were thorough.  I was hoping…